Only One Ring in the End
by silentrose24
Summary: Kagome goes on a reality show with 14 other women to capture the heart of one lucky bachelor. Guess who he is? Inuyasha. AU, R&R please
1. Meet the Bachelor

Only One Ring in the End  
  
By silentrose24  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.  
  
Summary: Kagome goes on a reality show with 14 other women to capture the heart of one lucky bachelor. Guess who he is? Inuyasha. A/U, InuKag, R&R please  
  
Author's Notes: Erm-hope you like the fic. And review please!  
  
Chapter 1:  
  
Meet the Bachelor  
  
~*~  
  
Kagome Higurashi stepped off the bus into the bright Tokyo sun. She put on her sunglasses and glanced at her watch. Ten minutes early.  
  
She sat down on the bench outside, already occupied with another girl, with long black hair pulled back into a ponytail. She looked just about as nervous as Kagome felt.  
  
Kagome assumed she was another of the girls who was waiting for the huge coach bus that was going to take fifteen girls to a gigantic, beautiful mansion where one lucky bachelor was waiting for his future love.  
  
At least, that's what the commercials were going to say.  
  
"Hi."  
  
Kagome turned around, trying to place the unfamiliar voice. She spotted the girl looking at her. "Oh, hi."  
  
"Are you waiting for the--" the girl hesitated.  
  
Kagome picked up the sentence where the girl left off. "--bus, yeah, I'm on that show, 'Only One Ring In the End'."  
  
The girl's face brightened. "Oh, you too?"  
  
So she was another girl from the show. "Oh, yeah. What's your name?"  
  
"Sango. Yours?"  
  
"Kagome Higurashi," Kagome replied.  
  
Sango nodded. "So-you nervous?"  
  
Kagome gave a nervous laugh. "Oh-very."  
  
"Just think. One of is supposed to find the love of our life, who we haven't even met yet, on national television." Sango leaned back against the back of the bench, as if exhausted at the very thought.  
  
Kagome laughed again. "And one of us is supposed to marry him in a matter of six months."  
  
Sango sighed. "Crazy, isn't it?"  
  
Kagome nodded, agreeing. "Pure insanity."  
  
There was a brief uncomfortable silence. After all, they barely knew each other, and were going to be competing against each other.  
  
Kagome spoke first. "So, where you from?"  
  
"I'm from this little town called Shikon, it's near Kyoto. It's, um, really small. Um, so what about you?"  
  
"I live in an apartment in Tokyo."  
  
"Oh, that sounds nice."  
  
Kagome nodded. "Yeah, it is."  
  
There was another brief silence until a new voice broke in.  
  
"Excuse me. Is this the bus stop for the women who will be on 'Only One Ring in the End?"  
  
Kagome and Sango turned around. Their gaze met another girl, who looked uncannily like Kagome, only with dark eyes that were of a darker shade of brown and ebony hair that was much longer. She looked incredibly prim and well groomed, slightly reminding Kagome of a poodle without the overly puffy fur around her feet and her neck.  
  
Each long, wavy hair on her head was in place; not one was sticking out. She stood up perfectly straight, her head was held up high, and she held a light pink satin purse. She was wearing a light pink, sleeveless summer dress, a pearl necklace, pearl earrings, light pink strappy sandals with three-inch heels, and a painfully condescending look.  
  
Kagome felt incredibly underdressed and self-conscious as she realized she was in black jeans and a dark blue tank top. And flip-flops.  
  
She glanced at Sango, who was in similar attire. She seemed to be thinking along the same lines.  
  
"Uh-yes," Kagome said.  
  
"Thank you." The Kagome look-alike sat primly on the other side of the bench.  
  
The girl gave Kagome an uneasy feeling. Looking at Sango, she could tell she felt the same.  
  
Nevertheless, she tried to be friendly. "What's your name?" asked Kagome.  
  
"My name is Kikyou," she said, giving Kagome a less than friendly look.  
  
"Oh." Kagome hesitated for a moment. "I'm Kagome, and this is Sango."  
  
"I see." Kikyou nodded once.  
  
Kagome looked at Sango. Sango returned a look that said exactly what both of them were thinking:  
  
This girl is creepy.  
  
"Hello, this is the bus stop for that show, isn't it?"  
  
Another contestant that was going on the show.  
  
'Let's hope she's not so creepy,' Kagome thought before turning around.  
  
She turned around and saw a sweet looking girl with black hair and brown eyes. Kagome was relieved to see that she was dressed casually-light blue jeans and a white t-shirt.  
  
"Yes."  
  
The girl smiled warmly. "Thank you." She. She took a seat between Kagome and Kikyou. "My name is Misora. What's yours?"  
  
"I'm Kagome, and--"  
  
"-And I'm Sango," said Sango, smiling up at Misora.  
  
"And what about you?" Misora asked, looking at Kikyou.  
  
Kikyou gave her the same unfriendly look. "I am Kikyou."  
  
Misora looked slightly taken aback at Kikyou's unfriendliness. "Oh. All right then."  
  
~*~  
  
Ten minutes had already passed, and Kagome, Sango, Misora, Kikyou and eleven other girls who were single and looking were on the coach bus.  
  
"So, what do you think he's like?" Misora asked, leaning over her the armrest of her gigantic cushioned seat, looking at the other fourteen women.  
  
"I bet he's really cute," said a contestant named Mitsuko.  
  
"Well, duh, he has to be," said Ai, another contestant. "He's going to be on national television and fifteen girls are supposed to go after him. If he was ugly, we could just leave, couldn't' we?"  
  
Kagome laughed. "That's some seriously twisted logic you've got there, Ai."  
  
Ai shrugged. "Well, it's true."  
  
"I bet he's sweet and charming," said Sango.  
  
"Mr. Perfect," Kagome agreed.  
  
"Imagine if one of us fell in love with like, the cameraman or something," Misora mused.  
  
"Oh, please. How would that happen?" Sango laughed.  
  
"Yeah, I know," said Misora. "Honestly, which one of us would pass up a huge, nationally televised wedding with a cute guy for a cameraman?"  
  
Kagome laughed. "But anything's possible, isn't it?"  
  
Another contestant with long, curly locks named Esumi laughed. "Sure is."  
  
Fourteen women carried on with their lively conversation. Who was the other one?  
  
Kikyou.  
  
No one noticed her silence as they continued chatting. But if they had, they might've thought it a little odd. And if they had noticed the vindictive and calculating look on her face, they would've thought something was going on.  
  
They might've believed that Kikyou was up to something.  
  
~*~  
  
"We're here!" Esumi squealed excitedly, who spotted an enormous mansion behind a colossal iron gate.  
  
There was a chorus of oohs and ahs throughout the bus. It wasn't too hard to tell why.  
  
The vast property that they were going to be staying on for the next six months was-there was no other word for it-amazing.  
  
The Gothic style mansion was made out of stone, and parts of it were covered in green ivy crawling and twisting around the walls and the roof. It had at least five floors, but it wasn't just the mansion that was amazing.  
  
It was surrounded by green, grassy land, accented with roses and peonies and all sorts of other flowers growing on the sides of the mansion and around the edges of the property. Kagome could've sworn she saw a fountain with one of those Cupids with water shooting up out of their mouths there somewhere, and saw something that resembled an apple orchard far away.  
  
Kagome smiled. This was going to be great.  
  
~*~  
  
"Off the bus, ladies!"  
  
A man with black hair and blue-green eyes was standing at the exit of the bus. He shook hands with each woman, introducing himself Eito, the host of the show.  
  
When all of the women had gotten to the door of the mansion, Eito stood in front of them.  
  
"After our bachelor greets each of you, wait at the top of the stairs for the butler, who will see you to your room.  
  
"So, ladies," he said, "I'm sure you've all been dying to meet this guy, and you will-right about now."  
  
Eito opened the door to reveal a man with long silver hair and golden eyes. 'And a killer smile,' Kagome thought. 'He is so cute.' She figuratively melted on the spot.  
  
The women filed into the mansion, eager to meet the man with those amazing golden eyes. He greeted each woman with a smile, and some with a wink. When it was Kagome's turn, he flashed his 'killer' smile again.  
  
"Hi, my name's Inuyasha Taisho," he said.  
  
"I'm Kagome Higurashi," Kagome introduced herself breathlessly.  
  
She stood there for a little while, staring at him. He wasn't classically handsome, but he was definitely cute.  
  
Apparently, she stood there too long, because Eito tapped her on the shoulder, and said, "Uh, miss? Could you move it along there?"  
  
"Oh.. right." Kagome's face flushed red, and suddenly realized that there was a line of women waiting impatiently behind her. She forced a smile onto her face, as if her loss of sense over a man was just a big joke. "Heh. Sorry." She walked away.  
  
'Stupid, stupid, stupid!' she thought as she went up the stairs.  
  
Kagome stood at the top of the stairs, waiting for the butler to come show her to her room.  
  
She really, really hoped that they wouldn't air the part where she stood there gawking at Inuyasha like an idiot.  
  
~*~  
  
=) Review if you liked the chapter! 


	2. Getting To Know You

Only One Ring in the End  
  
By silentrose24  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. Ha! You can't sue me. =P Lol.  
  
Summary: Kagome goes on a reality show with 14 other women to capture the heart of one lucky bachelor. Guess who he is? Inuyasha. A/U. R&R please.  
  
Author's Notes: To anyone who likes this fic, here you go, next chapter. =) And sorry about how long it took to update! I was just so preoccupied with schoolwork and I had a huge writer's block just about all February, and as you can see, most of March.... But hey, at least it's here now. Lol.  
  
Also, I wrote this in my profile, but as some people might not have read it, I'll post it here:  
  
The more I write, the more I think that maybe it should be focused on Miroku and Sango, because I think their personalities fit the bill a little better. I mean, now that I think about it, Inuyasha as a handsome, smooth bachelor doesn't seem right. So, do you think that I should rewrite this story with Miroku and Sango? I'll probably just end up changing their names around; if I do this, it wouldn't be much different, except for this chapter.   
  
Sooo? What do you guys think? Leave a comment on this in a review.  
  
WARNING: Some OOC in this chapter, but it will be explained later in the chapter.  
  
Chapter 2:  
  
Getting To Know You  
  
~*~  
  
"Here we are," said the kind faced, balding butler as he and Kagome stopped in front of a freshly waxed mahogany door. There was a brass plate affixed on it that read 'Kagome' in curvy script.  
  
"Thank you," said Kagome, taking her bags from the butler, who had conveniently brought them up from the coach bus.  
  
The butler smiled his 'Your welcome.' "Have a nice stay." He retreated down the red velvet covered stairs, where Kagome supposed another girl was waiting for him to lead her to her room.  
  
Kagome grabbed the doorknob, turned it to the right, and pushed forward.  
  
She was immediately immersed in a cloud of lavender.  
  
The huge room was done almost completely in shades of the light purple color; there were some that blushed pale pink, while some others had a bluish tint to it. She looked at the floor beneath her; she was standing on a luxuriously deep carpet in a slightly deeper shade of purple. She lifted her head and looked at her gigantic lavender wardrobe with little drawers on the bottom of the closet area, probably for shoes and things like that. She shut the closet doors and her gaze fell upon her bed. It was a four- post bed, covered in soft satin sheets. Soft purple cotton pillows sat at the head of the bed. Kagome guessed were filled with down feathers, judging from how squashy and comfortable they were. Across the room, there was a little TV bench holding a television that was a bit on the smallish side.  
  
Kagome smiled. Lavender was her favorite color.  
  
She walked to the back of the room where the windows were. She thrust the lavender muslin curtains aside, pushed the mullioned windows away and gazed out of it, looking straight out into the garden.  
  
She closed the windows and threw herself onto the soft, cozy bed. She sat up and took another look at the lavishly decorated room. She fell backwards again, this time with an ecstatic grin on her face.  
  
You can take it that she liked the room.  
  
~*~  
  
A man with bluish-purple eyes, black hair and a small ponytail tied at the nape of his neck knocked twice on a mahogany door with another brass plate on it, only this time it said 'Sango'.  
  
Sango opened the door. "Um... hi."  
  
The man had a friendly smile. "Hey, I'm Miroku," he said.  
  
Sango had an odd look on her face. "Hi, Miroku.... I'm Sango," she introduced herself.  
  
Miroku chuckled. "Yeah, I noticed from the door." He gestured towards the brass plate on the still opened door.  
  
Sango laughed, a little nervously. "Um.... I'm a little busy unpacking."  
  
"Oh, sorry," Miroku apologized. "Just wanted to say hi; I'm the cameraman, so we'll probably be seeing a lot of each other." He hesitated for a second. "Hey, you want any help?"  
  
Sango smiled, giving him a grateful look. "Oh, yeah, thanks," she replied, opening the door a little wider so that Miroku could walk into the cheery, sky blue room. She turned her back and continued putting clothes away into her closet.  
  
Miroku was behind her, folding some of her clothes that were still in her two big, black duffel bags. He watched Sango, who still had her back turned to him.  
  
Being the pervert he was, he found himself concentrating not on helping Sango unpack, but on something else.  
  
Sango stepped back for a moment to close the closet doors. She had no idea what was going through Miroku's mind, or how close his hand was to her leg.  
  
A moment later, she felt a hand run up her leg and grab—well, you know.  
  
She flinched.  
  
The women that were living on either side of her could hear Sango's cry of "HENTAII!!!" and a *thwack* as her hand came down hard on Miroku's cheek.  
  
"HENTAII!" she repeated, fuming. "Get OUT!"  
  
"Sorry about that," said Miroku. "But it was worth the pain... that's a damn fine ass you've got there." He flashed what he hoped was a disarming smile, and backed out the door, his hand on the attacked cheek.  
  
"Perv," Sango muttered, glaring at his retreating figure. She closed the door and turned to a pile of folded clothes that still had to be put away.  
  
~*~  
  
Kikyou was already settled in her pink and red room, looking at a picture of her with a man about her age. Everything around them was perfect. They were perfect.  
  
Ah, those were the days....  
  
But someone just had to come along and ruin everything....  
  
Someone had betrayed them both.  
  
Kikyou walked over to the nightstand, pulled open a drawer, and placed the picture inside one of the drawers.  
  
'It's payback time.'  
  
She slammed the drawer shut.  
  
~*~  
  
Next morning, Kagome awoke to birds chirping outside her window. She had slept exceptionally well last night, and she woke up refreshed and ready to start the day. She started humming a cheery tune and stepped into the shower. She was drying her hair with a towel when she heard a knock on her door.  
  
"Who is it?" she yelled, turning her head to the door.  
  
"It's Eito," called the voice from the other side of the door.  
  
Kagome walked to the door and opened it. "Yes?"  
  
"We're having a barbecue with all the women and Inuyasha tonight at around eight, kind of like a 'get-acquainted party.'"  
  
"Okay... How should I dress?" Kagome asked. Hey, she didn't know how the minds of these TV people worked.  
  
"Oh, you can dress just as you normally dress at any barbecue-type party. Just, you know, don't look like a slob or anything... it wouldn't be too good for TV."  
  
"Okay, thanks," said Kagome. She shut the door.  
  
~*~  
  
Within an hour, Kagome was ready, in a turquoise and white tank top and a pair of light blue jeans, she went down the staircase in front of her room. She saw all the contestants, including Sango, who looked disturbed.  
  
"Hey, Sango," Kagome said, walking over to her.  
  
"Hey."  
  
"What happened? You look a little..." Kagome paused, looking for the right word. She finally decided on a simple one. "Mad."  
  
"The cameraman groped me," Sango replied jerkily.  
  
Kagome tried to suppress a laugh. However, she failed (miserably) and was forced to fake a coughing fit. "Oh," she said, not sure what else to say.  
  
Eito finally arrived in front of the staircase. "Okay ladies, let's go." He turned around and led the women to the back porch. Waiting there was a huge oak table laden with all sorts of delightfully unhealthy food that had come straight off the grill, like hot dogs and hamburgers, and healthier ones, like salads. And sitting at the head of the table was Inuyasha.  
  
~*~  
  
Inuyasha sat down on the bench beside Kagome, who was eating a hamburger voraciously. "Hey."  
  
|Kagome quickly wiped her mouth and put the hamburger down, trying | |to look at least moderately neat. "Hi," said Kagome, trying to | |sound cool and clam (and as if she didn't gawk at him the | |previous day). |  
  
"So," Inuyasha said, glancing quickly at the camera that was aiming at him, "this is a get-acquainted party, after all. So, let's get acquainted." He leaned in a little closer. Kagome's face flushed a pale shade of pink as his engaging golden eyes bore into hers. "Tell me about yourself."  
  
"Well, uh..." Kagome wasn't sure where to start. So she said so. "I don't know where to start."  
  
Inuyasha smiled. "Well... how 'bout you tell me your name?"  
  
Kagome cheeks burned a brilliant magenta, realizing just how incredibly obvious that was. Great. She'd embarrassed herself in front of a potential (steady) boyfriend, or even husband, for the third time in two nights. Just great....  
  
She laughed airily, trying to laugh off her stupidity and make it seem as though she didn't feel totally and completely humiliated. "Oh, yes, my name is Kagome Higurashi. And, um, I'm from Tokyo... and I have a little brother, Souta...." She continued on with her life story, while Inuyasha nodded and smiled, saying, "that sounds interesting" at the perfect times.  
  
'He's just perfect,' Kagome thought giddily. Her heart was dancing with glee.  
  
~*~  
  
Kikyou glanced over at Inuyasha. She saw a girl beside him, chatting animatedly and him smiling.  
  
She choked on her soda and nearly got it all over her new red and white Polo shirt. Why?  
  
They'd been talking for nearly 10 minutes. Really, thought Kikyou, doesn't that girl ever get tired of talking?  
  
But then again, Kikyou didn't have to be worried. Everything would go according to plan.  
  
What was that girl's name again? Kogome? Well, whatever her name was, there was no way that she'd win Inuyasha over herself. I mean, there was Kikyou, a refined, elegant, classy woman, and then there was that other one, a plain, run-of-the-mill girl.  
  
Who was Inuyasha going to choose? Come on.  
  
It was so obvious.  
  
~*~  
  
The barbecue was over, and everyone was heading back in. Kagome had a ridiculous grin plastered on her face. Kagome had had a great conversation with Inuyasha, and she felt that they'd really hit it off.  
  
As Kagome was right about to open the door that led back into the mansion, Inuyasha placed his hand onto her shoulder.  
  
Kagome turned around.  
  
Inuyasha's face was very close to hers.  
  
Kagome felt her heart beat twice as fast.  
  
She closed her eyes....  
  
"Look, that was an act."  
  
She opened them. What?  
  
"I didn't really want to come on this show. I just wanted to show my mom that I was trying to get married... she was constantly nagging me about grandchildren and all that."  
  
Kagome felt her spirits plummet back down to earth.  
  
"And I have to act all Prince Charming and shit for the network, at least at first," he continued, rolling his eyes. "It's supposed to sell or something. I don't know."  
  
She couldn't believe what she was hearing.  
  
"Look, I'm not exactly a Prince Charming in real life, so don't expect me to be too nice to you when the cameras aren't rolling... Just wanted to clear that up." He went inside the mansion. Kagome gaped at him once again, but this time for a completely different reason.  
  
She felt anger boil up inside her.  
  
What a jerk.  
  
~*~  
  
Don't worry, Inuyasha's not gonna stay mean for the whole story. ^_^ 


End file.
